Summer Days Drifting Away
by trix is for kids
Summary: RenTawny story. Part 2 of chapter 5 is up... I guess I could just go ahead and call it chapter 6... even though it's technically still 2005 and therefore should be called chapter 5... Whatever. Please readreview.
1. Wombat Creek

**Title: **Summer Days Drifting Away (…yes, I did use lyrics from "Grease" as the title)

**Pairings: **Ren/Tawny with some Louis/Tawny

**Disclaimer: **I (obviously) don't own "Even Stevens" and I (even more obviously) don't own the lyrics from "Grease" that I used as the title of my story.

**Author's Note: **Okay, so I really had no clue where to take the other R/T story I had started –and I _hate _not knowing where I'm going with a story so therefore I started this story. I know _exactly _where this story is going from chapters 1 to 12. Whoot! And, btw, each chapter will take place during a different summer (hence the title) and sorry if this chapter sucks –the story will get more interesting, I promise.

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**Chapter 1: Wombat Creek **

**_June, 2001_**

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

Her fingers were beating on the window of her dad's station wagon. She was sitting in the backseat just staring out of the window –and tapping her fingers against it. She always did something with her hands when she was nervous.

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

Her dad said that it would help her to deal with her grief, that it would be an "enriching and positive experience". She, however, couldn't see his logic.

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

She had blue eyes and jet black hair. She was eleven years old, but small for her age –she didn't look like she could be a day over nine. Her pale skin gave her an angelic appearance, or at least it would have if her face hadn't been scrunched into a scowl.

"I hate you." She said quietly, but loud enough to be sure that her father would hear her.

He smiled. "You don't mean that, honey."

"You're wrong." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I really do hate you," she stated firmly.

He shook his head solemnly as he pulled into the parking lot of an unusually crowded campsite. There was activity going on in every direction around his old station wagon. Skipping, jumping, playing. Hello hugs, goodbye hugs. New friends, old friends. Parents, kids. Counselors. It was summer camp, and everyone seemed to be just _so_ happy. Everyone, that is, other than the small, pale, blue-eyed girl and her father in their 1972 Ford Country Squire.

Without a moment's hesitation, a man wearing a pair of bright red shorts and a striped orange tank top approached the car. He waved for them to stop and motioned for them to roll down the window. "Well, hello. Hi there. Nice to meet ya'. The name's Steve Stevens and I'm Head Counselor here at Wombat Creek," the man greeted the pair, stretching his hand out. When he realized he wasn't going to get a handshake, Steve cleared his throat and continued with his greeting. "Um… right…" He smiled warmly, pausing to think of what to say –not getting a handshake really threw him off. "Well, I'm sure little um, little uh, little…"

"Tawny," Mr. Dean helped.

Steve scanned over the list on his clipboard. "Ah, Tawny Dean. Well, I'm sure little Tawny's going to have a great time here," he said and turned his happy gaze towards the very angry little girl in the backseat. "We sure are going to have a Wombatastic time, right camper?"

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she sighed, opening the door and stepping out into the bright June sunshine. She wasn't in the mood for this. It wasn't fair. She never had to go to summer camp _before_. Tawny sighed again as she waited for her dad and Counselor Steve to get her bags out of the car. She glared as she watched them.

_I bet mom wouldn't have made me come here_, she thought as she continued to glare.

"Well, I guess I'll just take these bags over to the cabins while you two say your goodbyes," Steve said, still in the same annoyingly chipper tone of voice, as he walked away.

Mr. Dean took a step towards his daughter and knelt down in front of her, so that they were eye level with each other. When Tawny turned her face away from him, he just smiled sadly. "I… I know this is hard, Tawn…" he said, the slight quiver in his voice proving just how true his words were. "I know you don't want to be here… but trust me, sweetie. This is for your own good."

Tawny kept staring at a random tree in the distance. She wasn't going to look at him. _He's just lying to try and trick me_, she thought. She didn't say a word.

Mr. Dean tried to hug his daughter goodbye, but she pushed him away. Hurt, he sighed and got back in his car. He wanted nothing more than to see his daughter happy again. He wanted nothing more than to see a smile on her face like he had seen so many times in the past. So, as hard as it was for him, he put the station wagon in drive.

Tawny watched it speed away until it was only a speck in the distance.

"Hi, what's your name? My name's Ren Stevens. I'm Counselor Steve's daughter," a girl greeted her. The girl had brown hair and eyes, and was lanky and tall for her age –she nearly towered over little Tawny. The girl didn't look much like her father, but her horrible outfit and disgustingly peppy attitude were both almost identical to his.

Tawny felt like throwing up. _I can't believe I'm stuck here for a whole two weeks_, she thought -brushing Ren off, and walking towards the tree she had been staring at. She'd decided to go sit down under it in the shade. The sun was starting to bother her. "Hey, where are you going?" the lanky, peppy, annoying, brown-eyed girl called after her. Tawny had already forgotten her name.

When she reached the tree, Tawny sat down and was instantly relieved. _Shade_. Her relief, however, was only temporary. The Counselor's daughter girl had followed her. She huffed and sat down next to Tawny. "You could at least _try_ to be friendly."

The small girl turned to look at What's-her-name, and glared. "Do you consider stalking me to be friendly?" she asked with sarcasm well beyond her years.

What's-her-name rolled her eyes. "I'm _not_ stalking you. Stalking is repeatedly harassing or otherwise intruding upon a person's privacy in a manner that causes fear," she spouted out as if she were a dictionary. "Are you afraid?"

"No. But I'm annoyed, does that count?" Tawny got up, walked over to a tree a few paces away and sat back down in the hopes that she'd be left alone.

No luck. What's-her-name simply followed her, and sat down next to her again. "You know, you never told me your name."

"True," Tawny stated simply. Her plan: talk as little as possible until What's-her-name just gives up and goes away.

What's-her-name waited a few seconds before speaking again. She stared at Tawny impatiently –waiting for Tawny to respond was _not _an effective time-management strategy. "So… are you going to tell me what your name is?"

"No."

What's-her-name let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine, don't tell me if you don't want to. I still have to stay and talk to you –or at least pretend to."

"Why?"

"My dad told me to."

"Oh."

The two girls sat in silence for awhile. _I hate this_, Tawny thought. She didn't want to be at camp. She didn't want to have someone being forced to talk to her. She didn't want to be mad at her dad. She just wanted things to be back to normal. Back to how they used to be before her mom died. A solitary tear made its way down the small girl's face and off her chin, watering the grass beneath her. Before long an entire stream of tears followed it. Needing comfort, she subconsciously climbed into What's-her-name's lap and buried her head in the girl's neck.

"I forgot what your name was," Tawny said in between sobs, not knowing what else to say.

"Um… it's Ren," the taller girl said, awkwardly wrapping her arms around Tawny. Ren was smart –_very _smart- but that couldn't help her now. She'd never really had to comfort someone before, and she had no idea what to do.

"My name's Tawny," the smaller girl whimpered. "My mom died."

_Oh_, was all that came to Ren's mind as she patted Tawny on the back. Usually on-the-ball, Ren had lost her grip on the situation. _Weird girl… sitting on my lap… her mom just died… Think, Ren… _"Well, um… Tawny… uh… Why don't I show you to our cabin?"

…

"Ta-da!" Ren said stupidly as she opened the cabin door. The walk there had taken nearly five minutes, and during that whole time, Tawny had not even come close to sobering up. If anything, she had started crying harder. _Come on Ren, there's has to be something you can do to cheer Tawny up_, Ren thought, scanning around the cabin for ideas.

Glancing at the beds, Ren blurted out, "You can have the top bunk!"

The small girl sniffled. "I don't like top bunks." She sniffled again. "I'm afraid that'll I'll fall off."

Ren frowned. She was pretty sure that all she was succeeding in doing was making Tawny even more upset. "Uh… well, you can have the bottom one then…" she said lamely. Scanning the cabin again, she noticed the smell of barbeque seeping in from outside. Another idea popped into her head and she smiled broadly. "Hey! You know, it's lunch time. I could go get you a hamburger!" she said excitedly.

Tawny shook her head and continued to cry. "I'm a vegetarian."

Ren sighed heavily and sat down on the bed nearest to her. _Gosh, why can't I do anything right? _she asked herself. Tawny sat down next to her and Ren wrapped her arm over the girl's shoulders. _At least I didn't mess that up_, Ren thought –happy that she finally did something to make her new friend calm down a little.

"Hey, Ren! You in here?" a young, curly-haired boy shouted as he stepped into the cabin. "Hey, Ren. You seen Donny anywhere?" he asked, looking at Ren and then staring at Tawny. "Who's the crying girl?"

Ren rolled her eyes at her younger brother. "Louis, do you _have _to be so tactless all the time?"

Not having a clue what "tactless" meant, Louis just raised an eyebrow and took a bite of the hot dog in his hand. "Your _face _is tactless," he said with his mouth full of half-chewed food.

Tawny couldn't help but giggle at the boy.

And Ren couldn't help but feel a little jealous that Louis got Tawny to laugh and she couldn't. "You're so gross," she said with a cringe.

"Gross? Me?" he said innocently before taking another bite of his hot dog and chewing it with his mouth open. Louis then proceeded to walk up to Ren and stick out his tongue –with half of the bite he'd just taken resting on top of it.

"Eww," Ren pushed him away from her. "You're such a pig."

"And _you _are a dork," he stated firmly. He turned to look at Tawny, "Why is someone as cool as you hanging out with my sister?"

With that question, Louis managed to make Ren furious. "She's hanging out with me because Dad told me to go talk to her because she doesn't have any friends."

Louis took a seat in between the two girls and turned to face Ren. "Are you sure it wasn't because _you _don't have any friends?"

_That's it! _Ren thought before grabbing her brother and wrestling him down to the floor.

How _dare _he say that she didn't have any friends. She _had_ friends. Louis grabbed Ren's wrists and tried to hold them behind her back, but Ren quickly squirmed her way out of his grasp. _I have plenty of friends… _Ren thought as she pinched Louis hard on the arm. _There's Ruby… and… _Ren grabbed Louis's leg to stop him from kicking her. _And… Monique talked to me that one time… _Louis grabbed his hot dog and smeared the mustard from it all over Ren's face.

"Uh!" she yelped before wiping some of it off her face and smearing it all over Louis.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "No fair!"

"_You _started it!"

"Your _face _started it!"

"You're such an idiot!"

"Well, at least I'm not a _nerd_!"

"Enough!" rang the voice of Counselor Stevens –he was standing in the doorway looking far less cheerful than he had earlier. "What do you two think you're doing?" he asked his two kids sternly. He got no response. "You know better than to ignore a new camper!" he said furiously.

Again, Tawny couldn't help but giggle. The man was standing there in neon red shorts and an orange striped tank top (revealing an unmistakable farmer's tan), lecturing his kids –not on violence- but on the importance of welcoming new campers.

"Now, I expect you two to spend less time rough-housing and more time showing Tawny around," Counselor Stevens finished his lecture. He then turned to Tawny, his characteristic smile back on his face, "You know, wombats –or _Vombatus Ursinus_- generally move slowly, taking the time to really smell the roses." He placed his hand on Tawny's shoulder, "I expect _you _to do the same."

Tawny nodded with a smile on her face. It was proving rather difficult to take this man seriously.

"Wombatastic!" Counselor Stevens beamed. "And do you think you'll be alright with these two?"

Tawny looked over at Ren and Louis, both covered in mustard and clearly holding back the urge to start fighting again. She laughed and redirected her gaze back to Counselor Stevens. "I think I'll be just fine."


	2. Fireworks

**Author's Note: **Okay, so I actually updated relatively quickly! I'm very proud of myself (not so much proud of the fact that I neglected doing my Spanish homework last night so I could work on this chapter though…). Hope you guys like it -this chapter's supposed to lead into Ren's first feelings of the more-than-just-friends variety for Tawny. I didn't proofread/edit this chapter as much as I usually do (but, then again, I typically proofread an unhealthy amount of times…). Thanks for all of the reviews, and more comments/criticisms would be much appreciated.

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**Chapter 2: Fireworks**

**_July (4th) 2002_**

Knock, knock, knock.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! Ren, you'll never believe it!"

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

"Ren, oh my God, Bobby Deaver is here! Can you believe it?"

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.

"Ren, did you here me? _Bobby Deaver _is here!" Ruby squealed from the other side of the bathroom door. She had rushed all the way from the other side of the camp into the girl's cabin to tell her best friend the "big" news. Of course, for the short redhead from Brooklyn almost _anything _was big news –especially if the "anything" involved boys.

Knowing that her friend was easily excited, Ren wasn't impressed in the least. "Who's Bobby Deaver?" she asked coolly as she excited the bathroom and made her way over to her suitcase. She took out a small mirror and some floss, and casually began flossing her teeth.

Ruby looked at her as if she had just put on a gorilla costume and started doing the Macarena. "Ren! How do you not know who Bobby Deaver is? He's… he's… Bobby Deaver! Only the hottest guy ever to walk the halls of Lawrence Junior High!" Ruby shrieked, appalled that her friend didn't know who Bobby was. "And stop flossing, for heaven's sake, that's just _weird_," she added afterwards.

The taller girl complied with her friend's request, but only to inform her that flossing wasn't weird. "Dental hygiene is important," she said before returning to her flossing.

The redhead rolled her eyes. "It's not as important as saying hi to Bobby Deaver."

"If he's staying for camp, we'll have plenty of time to say hi to him later," Ren pointed out, ever the logical one. "Besides, what's so great about this Bobby Deaver guy? Have you ever even talked to him before?"

Ruby stared at Ren, her mouth agape. "Did you seriously just ask 'What's so great about Bobby Deaver?'" she questioned as if asking that question was blasphemous. "Ren, have you _looked _at him? He's gorgeous! He's like… like… a work of art! He's… he's… _gorgeous_!"

The taller girl laughed a little at her friend's exuberance. "And have you ever talked to him before?" she asked again, seeing as the first time she asked, the question had been suspiciously ignored entirely.

"Well… no. Not really," Ruby admitted, slightly defeated. Of course, being Ruby, she quickly bounced back. "And at this rate I never will so let's _go _already!" she said grabbing Ren by the arm and pulling her out of the cabin. Ren couldn't help but chuckle at how desperate her friend was to say hi to a guy she didn't even know. _Sometimes I just don't understand her_, the tall brunette thought as she was dragged towards the cabin door.

However, much to Ruby's dismay, a girl struggling with a large suitcase was blocking their way out. She was small, pale, had dark hair and blue eyes and, unlike the rest of the campers, was dressed almost entirely in black. Ren and Ruby stood at the door for several minutes before the girl noticed Ruby clearing her throat loudly. The girl looked up and Ren smiled, recognizing instantly who it was. "Tawny!"

"Oh, hey Ren," Tawny greeted her old friend, returning the smile. "Wow, I haven't seen you since last summer. How've you been?"

"I've been well. And you?" Ren asked, still grinning from ear to ear. Seeing Tawny again was a very pleasant surprise, to say the least. She had thought that for sure last summer was going to be the first _and last _time Tawny would be going to Camp Wombat –it wasn't exactly her style. And yet here she was, in the flesh, standing outside with her suitcase (which was so large that it looked as if she had prepared to go on a three month trip to Alaska).

"I've been doing alright," Tawny responded, she too with a big smile still plastered on her face. She never would have thought that going to camp would make her feel better, but it did, and although she typically hated things like summer camp, she felt like coming back anyway –if only to get to see Ren and Louis again.

For several moments, neither girl said another word. Most friends, after not seeing each other for a year, would hug –but neither Tawny nor Ren were comfortable with that particular ritual of invading personal space. So rather than hugging, they just stood there staring at each other –while Ruby stared at them both impatiently. "So, uh, you gonna move that suitcase in here or what?" she asked a little more harshly than she would have normally –annoyed that she was wasting valuable time that she could be using to gush over Bobby.

Tawny snapped backed into reality. "Oh, uh, sorry. I just… it's a little heavy," the small girl fumbled with both her words and her suitcase, caught of guard by Ruby's bluntness.

"Here, let me help you with that," Ren said. Together the two girls managed to lift the suitcase up the several wooden steps that lead into the cabin.

"Thanks," Tawny said once they were inside, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Your welcome," Ren said, not able to take her eyes away from the younger girl. She still just couldn't believe Tawny actually came to camp again.

When Ren didn't budge from the spot where she was standing, Ruby shot her an impatient look. "Are you coming?"

Ren shook her head, annoyed that she had zoned out –Ren Stevens _never _zones out. "Right, Bobby, of course." She started following Ruby out, but stopped midway. "Uh, Tawny, you could come with us if you want. We're just going to be, like, stalking this guy Ruby has a crush on," Ren stammered, frowning for a moment for saying "like".

Ruby also frowned. _She's talking about me like I'm just some boy-crazy loser_, she thought, the jealousy in her eyes easily visible. _And who does she think she is inviting Terri, or whatever her name is, to come with us?_

Tawny noticed the glare Ruby was giving her and shook her head. "Thanks, but I should probably stay here and unpack." She was smart enough to realize immediately that Ruby wasn't someone you should mess with.

"I could stay and help you," Ren suggested quickly. She was more than a little eager to spend some time with her newest friend –being the "perfect girl" made it hard to meet new people. Honestly, Tawny was the only new friend she had made in five years.

Tawny smiled weakly, looking at Ruby again –the redhead was still glaring. "Um… no. Thanks… You go with your friend. I unpack faster when I do it myself anyway."

Ren's face fell. "Oh."

_Oh? _Ruby felt like screaming. _What's so great about Tonya?_, she thought, getting even more jealous when she saw the disappointed look on Ren's face. "Well, I guess we'll be going then," Ruby said grabbing Ren's arm and dragging her out the door. "Nice meeting you, Tamara!" she called out before slamming the cabin door shut behind her and Ren. "What was that all about?" she asked through gritted teeth as soon as the door was closed.

"What do you mean?" the taller girl asked, not entirely just playing dumb –she genuinely didn't quite know what Ruby was talking about. For being as smart as she was, she could really have trouble reading people sometimes.

Ruby huffed in pure frustration. "I _mean_ why, all of a sudden, are you acting like you're too good for me? What, are you trying to impress Tasha or something?"

"Her name's Tawny," Ren corrected Ruby, instantly regretting doing so. Getting Ruby angrier was the last thing she wanted to do. "I mean… look, I'm sorry if I said something to upset you. It's just, I haven't seen Tawny since last summer and I was just happy to see her again. Alright?"

The redhead paused to think for a moment, the expression on her face changing from anger to bewilderment. "No…" she said slowly. "It's not alright… I mean, why are you even friends with that freak of nature anyway?"

Typically, Ren played nice, but she felt a strong urge to slap Ruby _hard _for what she had just said. "Freak of nature?" the taller girl repeated. "Who gave you the right to judge people?"

"No one… it's just, come on Ren. You've gotta admit, she's not exactly normal." Ruby scoffed.

And Ren huffed. "Fine, could you tell me what _is _normal then?"

The redhead looked perplexed for a moment, but she always managed to come out on top during fights –and she was determined to keep her record. "So maybe I can't tell you what normal is… but it's not her, for sure," she spit. Then, satisfied that she had won the argument, she backed down a little, "Look Ren, could we drop this now? Let's just go find Bobby."

The lanky brunette furrowed her eyebrows. She didn't know what was running through Ruby's mind at that moment, but she did know that it made absolutely no sense. She huffed again. "Actually, I have a better idea: _you _go find Bobby, and I'll stay here with the 'freak of nature'."

Slightly taken aback, Ruby had to take a few seconds to register Ren's words before shouting, "Fine!"

"Fine!" Ren echoed her friend's words, watching Ruby storm away.

000000000000000000000000000000

Laughing hysterically, two girls fell into a patch of soft, slightly overgrown grass. The darkness that surrounded them was interrupted every few feet with tiny specks of blinking green light, fireflies. It was the 4th of July celebration that night and everyone at camp was there –mostly all clumped together in one section of the vast lawn of Camp Wombat. The two girls, however, chose a spot fairly far away from any one else.

"Today was fun," Tawny said as she reclined down onto the grass. She took in a deep breath of the summer air and stared up into the starry sky above. Before going to Camp Wombat, she'd never seen the stars shine so bright –there was too much light pollution in the city.

Ren sighed contentedly and lied down next to Tawny. "Today _was _fun." It was one of the best days she'd had in a while…

"Did you make up with your friend?"

Except for the fight. "No," Ren answered. No, she and Ruby hadn't made up yet. But it didn't worry Ren all that much; she and Ruby fought from time to time as all good friends do. Besides, "We'll make up eventually."

Tawny rolled onto her side and propped her head up with her arm so she could see Ren's face. She'd always felt that apologies sounded more sincere when you make eye contact with the person you were apologizing to, so she intended to do precisely that. "I'm sorry that I caused a fight between you two. I didn't mean to." Tawny wasn't stupid. She new Ruby was jealous and she new it was because Ren had a friend other than the redhead (for a change).

Ren chuckled. "Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything."

"But-"

"Don't. Don't blame yourself, even if you hadn't have been there, we would've found some other excuse to argue." Ren sighed. She and Ruby, her best friend since before she could remember, had been arguing a lot lately. It just wasn't the same as it was when they were two or three or six or eight or ten. _Maybe we just aren't compatible, _Ren thought, _maybe we were just friends out of convenience_. They _did _live practically next door to each other, after all. Still, the 13 year old didn't like the idea of losing a friend she'd known for so long –even if they didn't get along all the time. Losing something _that_ familiar, _that_ meaningful, it hurts.

The small girl lying to Ren's side breathed in and then out. "I think the fireworks are going to start soon," she said out of the blue, after several minutes of an oddly comfortable silence. She scooted closer to Ren. "My mom always hated fireworks," Tawny said softly, but not souding noticeably upset in anyway.

"Why did your mom hate fireworks?" Ren asked, turning to face Tawny –not realizing how close the smaller girl had scooted towards her. Their faces were barely an inch apart when Ren turned her head; she immediately, and awkwardly, moved back into her original position –her eyes staring up into the sky.

Tawny let out a small laugh, then answered Ren's question. "My mom said fireworks were overused to the point that they had become cliché. She said that they were too loud and smelled bad and that there are plenty of other ways to celebrate."

"Oh," was the older girl's response. She didn't know what to say to that. So, for a few moments at least, she chose not to say anything at all –and, strangely, she felt fine doing so. With Tawny, she felt comfortable just being there; she felt comfortable letting herself relax –not being "perfect" for once in her life. "Do you like fireworks?" Ren asked as the crowd in the middle of the lawn started getting louder –signifying that there were indeed only a couple minutes left before the display would start.

Tawny didn't answer right away, instead taking a moment to really consider the question. "No…," she answered hesitantly at first. "No," she shook her head, "They're cliché." The first spark of colored light exploded in the sky. The two outcasts stared in awe for a moment. "I must admit, they really are beautiful though."

Ren nodded, her eyes fixed on the girl beside her. "They _are _beautiful," _but nowhere near as beautiful as you._


	3. Truth or Dare

**Author's Note: **Sorry it took me _so _long to update. Between midterms and the SAT, I just haven't had enough time to write. This chapter also ended up giving me a slight case of writer's block to top it off. But at least I finally have an update for you. Hope you like it –I'm a bit drained at the moment so I didn't re-read it as much as I usually do… So, enjoy and, as usual, comments would be greatly appreciated.

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**Chapter 3: Truth-or-Dare**

**_July, 2003_**

Ring, ring.

Ruby tapped her foot on the carpet impatiently as she held the phone receiver up to her ear. Huffing, she focused her eyes on the small, pale girl sitting on her best friend's lap on the couch.

Ring, ring.

The redhead glared at Tawny, causing a shiver to pass through the younger girl's body. She squirmed uncomfortably on Ren's lap and tried to ignore the evil eye Ruby was giving her. She'd become all too familiar with the redhead's dirty looks in the past year.

Ring, ring.

_Why'd she have to move here? _Ruby thought with scorn as she continued to glare at Tawny. She huffed twice more and tapped her foot on the carpet at least several dozen times before the ringing stopped.

Bobby had answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Bobby? Hi, uh, this is Ruby," the redhead said, letting out a nervous giggle. "I just wanted to, like, tell you a few things about myself. You know, so we know each other a little better."

Thoroughly confused, Bobby simply said, "Uh… okay…"

"Okay, so…" Ruby paused for a moment to take a deep breath in. "I just wanted you to know that…" She took another deep breath in. "I own every single episode of Star Trek ever made, I wet the bed until I was 12, and in the third grade I had a _major_ crush on Nelson Minkler," she said quickly, hoping Bobby Deaver –_the _hottest guy in school- wouldn't be able to understand what she had said.

"Um…" was Bobby's only response.

"Okay, well, that sure was a great little chat," she said, again laughing nervously. "See you around. Bye!"

As soon as she uttered her last word she hung up, tossing the receiver down like it was a hot coal.

Although she tried hard not to, Tawny couldn't help but laugh. Ren, too, let out a few chuckles –trying desperately not to be amused by her friend's misfortune. The other girls in the room, all dressed in their pajamas, were also laughing.

"Okay, sweetie pie, ya'll get ta dare someone now," one of the girls, Monique, said to the now very red Ruby.

"Great," Ruby said, her face hot from both embarrassment and irritation. She scanned her eyes around the room for show, but she already knew exactly who she was going to choose. "Tawny," she said, a mischievous grin spreading across her face.

The younger girl rolled her eyes –it's not like she hadn't seen this coming. After all, it _was _Tawny's (genius) idea to dare Ruby to divulge three secrets to Bobby Deaver. Tawny smiled inwardly, still basking in the pleasure of having come up with such a good dare.

"Tawny, truth or dare?" Ruby asked the younger girl.

Tawny weighed her options for only a few moments before she felt Ren's arm snake around her waist, pulling the two girls slightly closer together. "Don't pick dare," Ren whispered into Tawny's ear in warning. Trusting the older girl, and not really having any preference herself, Tawny stated firmly, "Truth." She knew that she had made the right choice when she saw Ruby's face fall.

"Damn," Ruby whispered under her breath. For being as good as she was at finding out people's deep dark secrets, she was horrible at making good truths. Still, she was determined to get revenge. She went over a list of questions in her mind, trying to find the one that would cause Tawny the most embarrassment. "Um…"

Monique yawned out of boredom. "Ya'll gotta ask a question sometime _tonight_, Ruby," she said with slight impatience as she rolled her sleeping bag onto the floor and slipped inside it. She _was _bored… but she might have been ever so slightly tired as well.

Ruby went over a few more questions in her head, none of them being embarrassing enough. Sighing, she settled on a classic, hoping that she could at least get a little bit of gossip out of asking it. "Do you have a crush on anyone?"

The small girl eyed Ruby suspiciously. "That's it? Do I have a crush on anyone?" she asked skeptically. She'd expected the truth to be more…

More…

Well, just _more_.

The redheaded Gossip Queen grinned. She'd dealt with this many times before –Tawny was trying to cover something up, definitely. Why else would she take so long to answer? "Why are you avoiding the question?" Ruby asked, eyeing Tawny.

Tawny just rolled her eyes. "I'm not avoiding the question," she stated flatly.

"Yes, you are," Ruby argued.

"No, I'm not," Tawny argued back.

"Yes, you are," Ruby repeated.

"No," Tawny stated firmly, "I _really_ am not."

"Yes," Ruby pressed, "You _really_ are."

Tawny was about to continue the argument when she stopped to think about how stupid it was… and about how Ruby might actually be slightly right… Slightly. Tawny shifted uncomfortably in Ren's lap. There _was _someone who she could see her self having a crush on… Tawny siged. "Well-"

"I knew it! You totally have a crush on someone!" Ruby exclaimed, interrupting Tawny. "Who is it?" she asked, excited. She wasn't particularly eager to know who the younger girl had a crush on. She was excited simply because it was new gossip –and to her _any _newgossip was good gossip.

Not saying a word, Tawny just smiled at Ruby. She just found a new way to torture her.

"_Well_, who is it? Tell me. You _have _to. This is a truth, remember?"

Tawny continued to smile. "I actually _don't _have to tell you. You asked me if I liked someone, not _who _I liked."

Ruby's face fell for the second time that night. "Damn," she said under her breath.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

By four o'clock the girls had decided to go to sleep. Ruby was lying on her side, snuggling with a large Snoopy pillow. Charlotte was spread out on an armchair, looking rather uncomfortable. Allison was buried under a large stack of blankets. Monique was sprawled on her back, snoring heavily. Tawny was lying practically on top of Ren on the couch.

Everyone was asleep.

Everyone except Ren, that is.

"Are you awake?" Ren whispered to the girl sleeping on her. She was starting to drool, leaving an uncomfortable-feeling damp spot on Ren's shirt. "Tawny?"

No response.

Ren sighed and tried to take her mind off the drool that was starting to seep through her shirt onto her chest. Even if she _could _do it, she wouldn't want to wake Tawny up and ask her to move. True, she _was _starting to get uncomfortable with Tawny lying on her. Tawny was drooling, starting to feel a little heavy, and every time she shifted (which was fairly often) she would end up kneeing Ren or jabbing her with her elbow. Still, to Ren it felt right.

_I wonder who she has a crush on, _Ren thought right before Tawny shifted slightly, and, in the process of doing so, kneed Ren in a _very_ uncomfortable spot. The older girl couldn't help but let out a pained whimper.

"Huh?" Tawny whispered sleepily, raising her head up a little. "Did you say something?"

"No," Ren whispered back, still sounding slightly pained. "I didn't say anything. Just go back to sleep."

Tawny grunted in compliance and rested her head back down –right into the damp spot on Ren's shirt. "Eww," Tawny cringed, once again lifting her head up a little. It only took her a moment after that to register where she was and what the liquid was that she had laid her face in. "Oh God," she whispered apologetically, "I drooled on you." She immediately sat up to let Ren out from under her.

"It's okay," Ren whispered sliding out from under Tawny. She sat Indian style on the couch and Tawny sat in the same way so they were facing each other.

The smaller girl shook her head. "No, it's not okay. I really didn't mean to fall asleep on you. I mean, I drool –it's disgusting."

"Well, you _are _pretty disgusting," Ren joked, receiving a light slap on the arm from Tawny. She laughed. "But you're also kind of cute, so I guess I'll keep you around."

"Oh, I see how it is. I've got the looks and you've got the brains... Hmm, I guess that could work out." A playful smile played on Tawny's lips.

Ren feigned offense. "So, you're saying I'm ugly?"

In response, Tawny placed her hand on Ren's shoulder reassuringly and said in all seriousness, "At least you have a good personality."

Both girls couldn't help but crack up.

Ren loved times like these. Just her and Tawny. Laughing at nothing. Talking about everything. Sometimes reading each others mind. While they were giggling, Ren took the time to study the smaller girl. Even through the darkness, her bright eyes sparkled and Ren could still make out the girl's pale hands sticking out of her long-sleeved black T-shirt. Ren could also still make out some of the pattern on Tawny's pajama pants. SpongeBob SquarePants. Ren still found the fact that Tawny liked that show amusing.

A few strands of dark hair fell from behind Tawny's ear, blocking part of the girl's pale face, and Ren reached out and brushed them back into place.

"Who is it?" Ren asked out-of-the-blue, surprising even herself with the question. She hadn't really meant to ask it out loud.

"What?" Tawny asked, this time not being able to read Ren's mind. She had no clue what the older girl was talking about.

"Earlier, when Ruby asked you if you liked anyone, your answer was yes." Ren gulped, suddenly feeling nervous for some reason.

"Oh." Tawny looked down at her lap. "Well, um… I don't… um… It's just…" She sighed. "I don't want you to get angry with me."

Ren chuckled nervously. "Wh-why would I get angry?" she asked.

Tawny lifted her head up again, looking Ren in the eyes. "Because of who I like," she said so softly that Ren, sitting only inches away, could barely make out the words.

Ren stared at the other girl for a few moments. What could be so bad about the guy? "Just tell me," Ren whispered, and in that moment something clicked. Maybe it wasn't a guy... Maybe it was a girl... Maybe it was Ren.

And maybe… maybe that's who Ren _wanted_ Tawny to like. "So… who is it?" Ren asked again.

Tawny stared at Ren intensely, clearly debating whether to tell her or not. Part of Tawny wanted Ren to know, but at the same time another part thought it would be best not to tell her. The former part must have been bigger though because, slowly, Tawny opened her mouth. She took a deep breath and leaned in to whisper…

"It's Louis."


	4. Ice Cream

**Author's Note: **Oh my God, I'm actually updating twice in one week! Trust me when I tell you this will most likely never happen again. It's only a fluke; I've been feeling a little sick lately so I stayed home today –giving me the opportunity to work on my story for a bit. Hope you all like the update. The love of my life reviews. And the ending to this chapter especially cliff-like this time, by the way… Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Ice Cream**

_**May, 2004**_

She always liked being there –the Stevens' house. To Tawny, it was a home away from (the cramped, drab apartment her and her father called) home.

"Tawny."

She was sitting in the Stevens' living room, waiting for Louis to finish getting ready. It was the night of the big 8th grade formal, which Tawny found ridiculously stupid. Still, Louis had asked her to go to it with him and she said yes.

"Tawny!"

They had been dating for almost three months now. Tawny thought they were good together. _But I wish things weren't so weird between me and Ren_. The pale girl sighed; she missed the way things used to be.

"_Tawny!_"

"Huh?" The small girl looked up, startled out of her thoughts. Louis was standing in front of her dressed in black dress pants, a ridiculous shiny red dress shirt, a hideous Three Stooges tie, and what too closely resembled clown shoes. Still, it was cute when he made an effort –and for him this _was _making an effort- so a smile couldn't help but form on Tawny's lips when her eyes met his.

Louis smiled warmly back at the brunette. "Glad to have you back on this planet," he chuckled. "Hey, um… would you mind waiting a couple more minutes. I just have one more thing to do before we can go."

Tawny nodded. "I don't mind."

"Great," Louis said, darting back out of the living room. Before he made it even halfway down the hall, however, he stopped and turned around. He walked back over to his date and knelt down in front of her. "You look… um…" He chuckled nervously. "You look beautiful, by the way," he said, placing a delicate kiss on her forehead and then quickly exiting the room again.

Tawny smiled –Louis was sweet.

With him gone again, Tawny continued to wait alone in the living room. She fidgeted in her dress. It was black and strapless –she hated strapless. She loved sleeves. Of course, it was hard enough to find a long-sleeved dress during the winter –damn near impossible to find one in May. It probably was for the best though. Long sleeves would've been too hot. Not that being hot would've made the dress any more uncomfortable than it already was. Tawny continued to shift around in it.

While she was waiting (and fidgeting), Tawny noticed Ren and Ruby in the hallway. They noticed her as well, but of course Ren pretended not to. She quickly moved her gaze from Tawny down to a very intriguing floor tile. Tawny just rolled her eyes, knowing full well that Ren was trying to ignore her, and walked over to the two older girls.

"Hey, Ruby," she greeted the redhead.

"Hey, Tawn, you're lookin' extra special tonight. Date with Louis?" Ruby asked amiably. Since Ren and Tawny had stopped really talking to each other, Ruby had suddenly taken a liking to Tawny –or at least stopped hating her.

In response to the redhead's question, Tawny shook her head. "No date, not technically. We're going to the formal tonight."

Hearing these words, Ren looked up (apparently not finding the floor tile as intriguing anymore). "You're going to the formal together?" she asked, not even trying to hide the hurt in her voice.

"Well, we _are _dating," Tawny pointed out.

_Don't remind me, _Ren thought bitterly. She knew that they'd been dating and she had expected that they'd go to the formal together but _still_… "You never told me," she stated, a hint of both anger and hurt in her tone.

Tawny glared at the older girl who, even with Tawny in heels, was still slightly taller. "I never _told_ you?" She shook her head and laughed bitterly. "Ren, if you mean I never told you that me and Louis were dating than you're _wrong_. I _did _tell you –you just didn't seem like you wanted to listen…" she paused for a moment to sigh. "But if you're talking about me not telling you that me and Louis were going to the stupid formal together than I guess you're right. Because, seriously, when _could _I tell you? You're always avoiding me for Christ's sake," Tawny spit, venting the frustration she'd been holding back for awhile now.

Ren shifted her gaze back down to the floor. "Louis and _I_," she mumbled, not having anything else to say.

"_What_?" Tawny asked in disbelief. _Ren couldn't have said what I think she did_, Tawny thought.

Ren continued to stare at the floor, avoiding making eye-contact with Tawny. "You said, 'me and Louis'. It should be, 'Louis and _I_'."

At this, Tawny had well passed her boiling-point. Luckily, Louis came back downstairs before she had time to explode. Oblivious to the tension in the room, he brushed passed his sister and Ruby to stand in front of Tawny.

"Here," he said, holding out a small box with a bow on it. "Mom wouldn't let me get you a corsage 'cuz she said I'd probably forget to give it to you and it would just end up rotting in my room. So, I got you this instead…" He opened the box, smiling hopefully at Tawny, revealing an expensive looking (at least for a 14 year old boy) bracelet.

Tawny stared at it for a moment, not knowing what to say.

"I know you like purple," Louis babbled, anxiously waiting for Tawny to say something. "And… and amethyst is your birthstone so… I mean, if you don't like it that's okay, I guess… I can always take it back to the jewelers… It's just I… I really like you Tawny and I just wanted to-"

"Thank you," Tawny finally said, stopping the curly-haired boy from babbling on any further. She would've said more, but she was too surprised. She never thought Louis really listened to her when she talked to him –but apparently she was wrong. She couldn't have mentioned her favorite color more than once or twice –but he remembered nonetheless. "I love it," Tawny said, giving Louis a kiss on the cheek and slipping the bracelet on her wrist.

Louis grinned goofily.

And Ren just looked on in envy.

Louis held his arm out for his date. "Shall we?" he asked in a bad British accent.

Tawny nodded with a laugh and looped her arm in his.

"Mom! We're ready!" the curly-haired boy shouted.

Mrs. Stevens came from the kitchen a moment later, complete with a brief lecture for Louis on how he doesn't have to shout when she's right in the next room. "How many times do I have to tell you, Louis? I can hear you when you talk normally. There's no need-"

"For shouting. Yeah, I know. Okay, mom," Louis nodded, used to this lecture by now. "Can we go now?"

Mrs. Stevens grabbed her keys and opened the front door, stepping outside. Louis and Tawny followed her out. Of course, in usual Louis fashion, the curly-haired boy couldn't leave without saying goodbye. "See ya later Ruby! Bye Dorkface!" he shouted as he closed the front door behind him.

"Louis! I _just_ told you about your shouting. Why don't you ever lis-" was the last thing Ren and Ruby heard before the door shut completely.

The redhead laughed. "Wow, didn't think old Lou had it in him," she thought aloud after the three had left, leaving Ren and Ruby alone in the hallway. The redhead turned to Ren. "Never thought he could be so… romantic."

Ren rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he's a regular Prince Charming," she said sarcastically.

Ruby looked at her friend curiously. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Ren shrugged, "I just think you're giving Louis too much credit. It's just a bracelet."

"_Please_, just a bracelet? Come on, Ren, that thing must have cost him at least fifty bucks," Ruby said, following her friend into the kitchen.

"So? He stole some money from Donny to buy a bracelet. Who cares?" Ren asked, looking around the kitchen –deciding what exactly she went in there for in the first place.

"Stole? Louis might be a little… strange, but we both know he'd never steal anything," Ruby said, again giving her friend a curious look. "Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

The taller girl headed for the freezer, taking out every single flavor of ice cream that was in it. She got out a bowl and an ice cream scoop and started to systematically take one scoop out of each type of ice cream. "Yes, I'm sure. Nothing's wrong," she stated flatly.

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Nothing's wrong? Ren, sweetie, you're making yourself a Rocky Road, Cookie Dough, Butter Pecan, Strawberry, Mint Chocolate Chip sundae in a _mixing_ bowl. Something's wrong," she concluded. "Is it something to do with Louis and Tawny?"

"No," Ren lied, getting out the whipped cream and chocolate syrup. "It's not anything to do with Louis and Tawny. It's not _anything_,period." She proceeded to drench her sugary mess of ice cream with chocolate syrup. "Nothing's wrong. I'm perfectly fine."

With a heavy sigh, Ruby grabbed the nearly empty syrup container out of Ren's hand. "Honey, I've seen fine, and _this_…" she gestured to Ren's ice cream bowl with her free hand, "This isn't it." The redhead set the chocolate syrup down on the counter and put her hand on Ren's arm. "Now tell me, what's wrong?"

Ren stared, not saying a word, at Ruby for at least a minute. Then, removing Ruby's hand from her arm, she grabbed a spoon, took her bowl of ice cream, and walked out of the kitchen up to her room. Frustrated, Ruby called after her friend. "You can't avoid the question forever Ren!" she shouted as she followed Ren up the stairs.

"Yes, I can," Ren said, closing the door to her room in Ruby's face.

The redhead shrieked, now beyond simply being frustrated. "Fine!" she shouted through the door. "Just lock yourself in your room if that's what you want!"

"It _is _what I want!" Ren called back. "I'd also quite like it if you left me alone!"

"Fine! I will! I'll leave right now! Mark my words, I'll leave this instant! Yes sir-ee, I have no problem with walking out the front door right now!"

"Great," Ren shouted, plopping down on her bed, "Then, go already!"

"Fine, I _will_," Ruby said furiously, taking a few steps down the stairs. "Yep, I'm just gonna leave right now," she babbled to herself. "If Ren wants to keep something from me, then so be it… It's not like I really care all that much anyway… Nope, it's not like I'm dyin' to know what she's hiding… Not at all… Not one bit…" She had slowly made her way to the very last step, mumbling to herself the whole way down.

"Ruby," Ren opened her bedroom door and called down to her friend. She sighed. "I… I'll tell you."

In a split second Ruby had bolted back up the stairs and into Ren's room, closing the door behind her. She hopped on Ren's bed, grabbing the bowl of ice cream and tasting a spoonful –surprisingly, the strange concoction wasn't half bad. "Okay, spill," she commanded excitedly, patting a spot on the bed for Ren to sit down.

Ren sat down on her bed and ate a spoonful of ice cream to stall a little so she could gather her thoughts together.

Meanwhile, Ruby was waiting impatiently for Ren to spill her big secret. By the time Ren ate a second spoonful of ice cream, the poor girl was almost ready to burst. "Come on and tell me already! I'm dyin' here," the redhead said, her words coming out as a whine.

Ren swallowed her bite. She took a deep breath and started to twiddle her thumbs –staring at them intently.

"_So_…" Ruby urged her friend on.

"So…" Ren sighed out. The brunette looked up from her thumbs and into Ruby's eyes. She took another deep breath.

"Can you keep a secret?"


	5. Spin the Bottle

**Author's Note: **Again with the disgustingly long wait in between updates. Sorry. I had a little trouble with this chapter at first, but once I got it started it worked out well. Well enough that it's a two-parter anyway. Here's the first part (it's a little short, I know –and really more like a prologue than a part one). I should be done with the second part sometime between tomorrow and May. Oh, and as usual: thanks for the reviews and I hope you like this new chapter…

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**Chapter 5: Spin-the-Bottle (part 1/prologue)**

**June_, 2005_**

**redhotruby813: **hey ren

Ren eyed the box that had popped up on her computer screen angrily for a moment before ex-ing it out. She wasn't in the mood to deal with Ruby, and she had no intention of doing so. She went back to typing her book report.

**redhotruby813: **so… i assume ur still mad at me

This new message appeared on Ren's computer screen after a couple of minutes had passed. Again, Ren's mouse quickly made its way to the little "x" in the corner of the dialogue box, and again Ren went back to typing.

**redhotruby813: **u cant stay mad at me forever, u no

Ren rolled her eyes –this message making her even more annoyed. _What's so hard about typing out "you" and "know"_, the brunette thought before logging off AIM.

Down the street, the brunette's friend let out a frustrated shriek. Ren hadn't talked to Ruby since the last day of school, and even then it was only to tell the redhead that she wasn't going to Larry's kick-off-to-summer blow-out –only the most important party of the year. _She's probably finishing that book report that's not due for another three months_, Ruby rolled her eyes at the thought. _That's it_, she thought, grabbing her cell phone and walking out her front door. She dialed Ren's cell number in the hopes that the girl would actually have it turned on for once in her life, but Ruby had no such luck. Of course, the stubborn girl was not about to give up _that _easily.

The Stevens' phone started ringing. Eileen Stevens was in the kitchen with her husband, flour everywhere. "Honey, could you get that?" she asked after a few rings, not looking up from the dough she was kneading.

"Sorry, no can do," Steve answered, the pain apparent in his voice. He was holding his now-bright-red hands in the sink under a stream of cool water. Evidently, he had burned them. Both of them.

Again.

Although her hands had a thick layer of cookie dough covering them, Eileen knew better than to wait for her one of her call-challenged children to answer the phone. She unsuccessfully attempted to wipe some of the dough off her hands before answering the phone on its eighth ring. "Hello," she greeted.

"Mrs. Stevens?" Ruby questioned, recognizing the voice, but not the flustered tone of it.

"Yes," Eileen answered, too distracted by the sudden appearance of Beans in her kitchen to elaborate.

"Um… this is Ruby. Could I talk to Ren?"

"Of course, sweetie," Eileen said pleasantly as she swatted Beans away from the cakes she had made. He was about to dip his fingers in the icing. "Just hold on for one moment," Eileen said to Ruby, before turning to Beans. "Alright, I'll make a deal with you," she said, her tone of voice telling the little boy that she meant business.

He stared at her hard. "Shoot," he said, his voice equally business-like.

"Stay out of my kitchen for the rest of the day and I'll make it worth your while tomorrow at breakfast."

The little boy eyed the woman suspiciously. "Will there be bacon?"

Eileen leaned over to place herself eye-level with Beans. "Mountains of it."

Beans continued to eye Mrs. Stevens for a few moments before sticking out his hand. "I think we've got ourselves a deal."

…

Upstairs, Ren was staring at her computer screen, proof-reading her report. Being the perfectionist that she was, she became so immersed in finding and correcting flaws that she didn't notice her door slowly squeak open. She also didn't notice the sound of footsteps coming up closer and closer behind her…

"Hey Ren!" Beans shouted, making Ren nearly fall out of her chair. The little boy smiled and laughed from getting the reaction he'd hoped for, before holding out the Stevens' kitchen phone for Ren. "You're mom told me to give this to you."

"Who is it?" Ren asked her annoying neighbor.

"It's Ruby!" Ren got her answer, not from Beans, but from the phone. "You can't keep ignoring me Ren!" the redhead shouted into her cell.

Ren rolled her eyes and told Beans to hang up. The little boy just shrugged and did what he was told. He wasn't really in the mood to annoy Ren... Plus, he could've sworn he smelled bacon as he passed Louis's room. He darted down the hall to go investigate.

…

Five minutes later, the door to Ren's room opened once again –this time a lot faster, causing a gust of air to hit Ren's face as an annoyed Ruby bolted inside. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? Happy now?" she greeted her friend.

"No."

"Ugh, Ren why are you making such a big deal out of this! We live in San Fransisco, California not Small Town USA, Kansas!" the redhead shouted in frustration. Lowering her voice substantially, she added, "No one cares that you're gay, Ren."

Slightly paranoid, Ren didn't say a word until she shut her door. "_I _care. Besides, that's not even the point. I told you something in confidentiality and you go and tell the whole school," Ren said harshly, but without raising her voice above a whisper.

"Okay, first of all, I _so _did not tell the whole school. I told, like, two people and it just… spread. And second of all, it's _me _you're dealing with. I kept quiet for a whole year. That's probably the longest I've kept something to myself in my entire life."

_At least she's honest_, Ren thought. But her anger refused to let her forgive her friend just yet. "That's no excuse for outing me to the whole school!" the brunette said, managing to do the impossible and shout while still whispering.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'm a horrible person who should be jailed, beaten, and forced to be a librarian. But, still, you've gotta admit I did you a bit of a favor. Now that you're out, you can start dating. Oh my God, I know this girl that would be _perfect _for you! I can set you up next-"

"No." Ren sighed, no longer angry with her easily-excitable friend. "Thank you, but… Have you considered the idea that maybe I'm not ready to start dating yet?"

Never before knowing that the words "not ready to start dating" could go together in that order, Ruby's answer was no. "You're just nervous, Ren. Come on, I know you'll _love_ her. Tall, blonde, absolutely _gorgeous_ –_I'd_ totallytap that."

Ren cringed. "For the sake of my sanity, _please_ never use the expression 'tap that' _ever_ again… Besides, you're the straightest person… ever. I really doubt that you'd…" Ren cringed again, "tap that."

"Okay, so maybe you're right… which is good because then you won't have any competition." Ruby gave her friend her best puppy-dog pout. "Come on, Ren. Just give her a shot. If it doesn't work out, I have plenty of other friends I can hook you up with."

_Which is further proof that you have way too many friends, _Ren thought. "Thanks Ruby, really, but no. I just don't want to start dating yet."

The redhead looked quizzically at Ren for a moment before raising an eyebrow. "Is it that you don't want to start dating yet… or that you don't want to date anyone who isn't Tawny?"

The taller girl, with her mouth agape and a blank look on her face, stared at her friend. "How did you… I never said… I only told you…"

"Do you really think I'm _that _stupid?" Ruby rolled her eyes. "I can put two and two together, you know." (_Usually to come up with five_, Ren thought.) "Besides, it's pretty much blaringly obvious to _everyone_ that you have a thing for her. That's why Louis dumped her, you know."

"What?" Again, the brunette looked completely puzzled –usually a rare occurrence for the perfect, goody-goody, straight-A Ren Stevens. "But he said-"

"That he'd lost interest –that he didn't think they'd work out," Ruby completed Ren's sentence for her. "He really did it because he thought you deserved a fair chance to be with her… There was a _little_ truth to what he said though. He _did _think they wouldn't have worked out –but not because _he _wasn't interested in _her_."

Ren stood silently in place. As predictable as her brother could be with his childish jokes and stupid pranks, Louis never failed to surprise Ren with his occasional bouts of maturity. Usually a self-centered brat, it was more than a little odd that with the one thing –one person- that meant more to him than anything, Louis was willing to share. "Do you think she's interested in _me_?" Ren asked.

"Louis sure is convinced that she is," Ruby answered. She smiled warmly, basking in the knowledge that she was about to get her way, and gave her friend a hug. "She'll be at Larry's party tonight. You should come with me –find out if Louis is right."

"Okay." Ren sighed, nodding slowly. "I'll go."

**To be continued...**


	6. Spin the Bottle pt 2

**Author's Note: **Okay, so this took more time to write than I had expected it to. For some reason, it kept coming out sounding rushed to me. I still don't think I have it quite right… but I guess I should let you be the judge of that. I hope you like it and I hope the next chapter is a little easier to write. Enjoy…

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**Chapter 5: Spin-the-Bottle (part 2)**

A short redhead dressed in a cute, but too-short-for-words, pink floral summer dress approached the door to Larry Beale's massive house with a fidgeting brunette dressed in blue jeans and a polo shirt following close behind her. Suddenly, the brunette (looking like she was going to either throw up or wet herself), grabbed the redhead's shoulder and spun her around. "I changed my mind, Ruby. I'm not going."

The redhead laughed, as if doing so would make her friend's words a joke.

"I'm serious Ruby –I'm not going."

The redhead just laughed some more.

"Ruby, I mean it. I'm not going," and with that, Ren started walking back down the Beale's front walkway. She almost immediately felt a death-grip on her arm, stopping her from retreating any further.

"You spent the past two hours trying on every article of clothing you own at least twice," Ruby glared at her friend, "putting every last hair on your head in perfect place," she breathed out slowly, "You made me do and _re-do_ your make-up," she started getting louder, "and _now _you're backing out?" With every word, the redhead seamed to get angrier. "Is that what you're saying?" she yelled.

"Um…" Ren smiled, and laughed nervously. "Yes?"

Ruby made a sound resembling something between a scream and a growl, and dragged Ren back to the Beale's door. "We're here. You're going to the party and you're going to have fun. Understand?"

"Understood," Ren nodded reluctantly, knowing full well that resistance was futile with her closet Trekkie friend. With no means of escape, Ren began primping herself one last time before they went inside. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Smoothed her jeans down. Popped, then un-popped, then popped, then un-popped her collar. "Do I look alright?" she asked as she continued her compulsive behavior.

"You look fine." _In a psychotic kind of way, _Ruby thought, grabbing Ren's arm to stop the girl from fidgeting any more.

"What about my outfit?" Ren asked, trying to squirm her arm out of Ruby's grasp.

Ruby evened out her friend's collar with her free hand. _God, this shirt is _so _last season_. "Love it," she smiled.

"What about Tawny? Do you think she'll notice me?" Ren asked, turning positively green upon mentioning her crush's name.

"Of course she'll notice you," _considering you'll probably end up throwing up on her_. "Like any girl could resist your charms."

"And do you think-"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm not exactly a rocket scientist, but I _do_ think every once and a while," she answered without letting Ren finish the question. Ruby put her hand on the doorknob and opened the door, "Now for Pete's sake, let's go inside already!"

…

After four hours, the party had died down considerably. Only a handful of people were still there, and the people who _were_ there were all sitting in a circle –a bottle in the middle of it. Both Ren and Tawny were part of the circle, albeit on opposite sides of it. Nonetheless, this was the closest they had come to each other during the party.

Ren reached into the middle of the circle, grabbed the bottle, and spun it. After an exceptionally awkward kiss with Ruby, Ren was no longer nervous about who the bottle would land on. _It's not like there's anyone that would be more awkward to kiss than Ruby… _Ren reasoned as she watched the bottle spin. _I mean_, she watched the bottle intently, _unless it lands on…_ The bottle stopped spinning, and Ren slowly shifted her gaze to the person it was pointing to –the person she dreaded it landing on the most. _Of course it had to land on Tawny_, Ren thought, trying her best not to blush as she made her way over to the girl.

Tawny felt her heartbeat speed up considerably as Ren slowly crawled towards her. They hadn't spoken for nearly a year, and now suddenly they were at the same party, playing some stupid game, and Ren was going to kiss her. She was going to kiss Ren. It was weird, and that, Tawny reasoned, was why she suddenly felt butterflies in her stomach as her old friend kneeled in front of her.

"Uh… hi-ey… I mean… hi… er… hey," Ren greeted as she awkwardly tried to figure out what to do with her hands. She ultimately decided to place one on either side of Tawny's hips, immediately regretting the decision as she felt her face heat up.

The younger girl couldn't help but be amused by the unbelievably awkward situation she and Ren were currently in. "Hi-ey?" she asked with a smile and a giggle. "I see you still are an eloquent speaker."

Ren relaxed slightly into the feeling of nostalgia that washed over her. For just one moment, she'd let herself believe nothing had changed. "And I see you're still your normal sarcastic self."

The smaller girl feigned shock. "Sarcastic? Me?"

Both girls chuckled.

"Ha ha, great, touching reunion," Larry chimed in. "Now, could you kiss her already?" His input earned him a glare from Tawny, and would've earned him a glare from Ren as well if she wouldn't have been trying to calm the blush that had spread across her face.

"So… I guess… um…" Ren leaned in, but hesitated.

Tawny just rolled her eyes (it was just a stupid game) and placed her hands on Ren's cheeks, bringing the older girl's head towards hers, the butterflies in her stomach long gone. She bridged the last few centimeters separating her lips from Ren's, and kissed away the year they'd spent not talking. It had been a hard year with Ren avoiding her like the plague. She'd hate to admit it, but every time Ren had pretended not to see her in the hall or had "forgotten" to call her back, it had hurt her. Tawny got so lost in trying to kiss away that hurt that she didn't notice Ren's hands snake around her back and pull her into the older girl's lap, and she didn't notice her own hands move from Ren's cheeks to the back of Ren's head, trying to ensure that Ren's lips wouldn't leave her own.

"This is so _hot_!" Twitty decided to announce, causing the two to break apart.

Ren's eyes looked like they were about to fall out of her head when the events of the past few minutes finally registered in her head. She sprung up, which sent Tawny to the floor with a soft thud. In any other circumstances, Ren would have apologized, but just then she couldn't. No, she had to get out. She had an urgent and overwhelming need to escape.

And that's exactly what she did.

"Ren, wait!" Tawny called after Ren, but waiting was definitely the last thing on her to-do list. Of course, number one on the list was getting as far away from Tawny as possible and staying there until she could regain her composure –_which will definitely not be in the near future_, Ren thought, _possibly in a year or two… or thirty._

Tawny had to sprint to catch her friend before she could make it to the door. "Please," the younger girl said softly but firmly, with a hand on Ren's shoulder trying to get the girl to turn around, "Please don't leave just because of some stupid game."

Ren remained silent, gently pushing Tawny's hand away, and reached for the doorknob. Tawny just looked on dejectedly as her friend walked out the door, shutting it behind her –and shutting Tawny out, yet again.

_Fuck this_, anger suddenly swelled up behind two blue eyes, _I miss her, damn it, and I'm not going to just let her fucking avoid me for no reason for yet another year. _Tawny re-opened the door and ran outside, nearly tackling Ren to get her to stop walking. "Do you really want to do this the hard way?" she asked the older girl who was simply refusing to stand still.

"Tawny, I just-" but before Ren could finish making an excuse, she found herself lying flat on her back in the grass with Tawny straddling her waist and pinning both of her shoulders to the ground. "When d'you learn how to do that?" Ren asked, letting out a small laugh despite herself.

"Tom Gribalski: Martial Arts Master –while you were giving me the _silent treatment_, I made a few interesting new friends," Tawny answered, making sure to emphasize the words 'silent treatment' with a glare. "So, are you going to talk now or are we going to have to stay out here all night?"

_All night would be good… _Ren smiled at the thought, but quickly shook it out of her head.

Misreading the taller girl's action, Tawny raised an eyebrow, "So… you're saying no, you aren't going to talk?"

"Huh?"

"You just shook your head no."

"No I didn't," Ren said simply, not caring to elaborate.

"Yes you did. I saw you."

"I didn't shake my head no."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I…" while Tawny was distracted Ren seized the opportunity, "didn't," she finished saying as she flipped herself onto Tawny and started tickling her.

"God, Ren… you're so… mature…" Tawny said, still able to dish out her sarcasm through her fit of tickle-induced giggles. Ren just smiled slyly and continued her assault, happy that –momentarily at least- she had the upper hand. "Come on… Ren… I'm not… 11 years… old… anymore… You can… stop… now."

"Promise me that you won't ask me any questions," Ren said, determined to keep the upper hand.

"Okay… okay… I promise…" the smaller girl reluctantly agreed, smiling only because she was still being tickled.

"And promise me that you'll let me leave once I stop," Ren added for good measure, sure that the girl squirming beneath her would agree to her second demand as easily as she had agree to the first.

But she didn't. "No," if Ren didn't know better, she'd think the blue eyes staring up at her had glossed over slightly. The owner of the blue eyes sighed and softly placed her hand on Ren's cheek. "No, I'll never let you leave me again."

Caught by surprise, Ren let go of Tawny completely, giving the smaller girl the opportunity to get out from under her. "That's not what I meant," Ren said, gazing at the girl now sitting in front of her, "I meant-"

"I know what you meant," Tawny said, standing up and offering a hand to Ren who took it and pulled herself up as well. "I'll let you go home," Tawny said softly, wrapping her arms around Ren. "But you're never leaving me again," she whispered, burying her head in Ren's chest. She wasn't much into physical closeness –she was a big fan of her personal bubble- but with Ren it was different. She smiled- she could hear Ren's heartbeat. It was soothing. It was comforting. It was just... nice.

"So, no more avoiding me, understand?" Tawny pulled away a little, giving her friend some space.

But Ren just pulled her back. "Understood."


End file.
